Consider if you will, somewhere in the world of sports a story where a team manager makes a public statement touching on the politics of the area. It goes very badly. The utterance so enrages the local government and status quo that he is made to apologize by a rattled, sanctimonious local leadership before being suspended. Not satisfied with this, a group of extremists associated with terrorist acts appears at the team’s home, vowing to boycott, calling for his being run out of town.
Given this mix of disregard for free speech, grand statements by petty bureaucrats, and terrorist thugs issuing threats, in what war-torn hellhole might you imagine this story unfolding? Bosnia? Mozambique? Tajikistan?
Try the United States.
When Ozzie Guillen’s mouth ran in Miami, the gale force winds blew away much cover for the rank hypocrisy of those who wrap themselves in the flag and “freedom”.
(Above: Vigilia Mambisa’s Miguel Saavedra, palling around with terrorists.)
Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez said in a statement yesterday that he joined his community and “all freedom-loving people in condemning” Guillen’s comments.
What he didn’t mention is that the loudest of these “freedom-loving” people — the ones who plan to camp out in front of Marlins stadium — have proudly harbored violent terrorist thugs who “love freedom” so much they murdered dozens of innocent civilians in its name.
There is much to dislike about Castro’s Cuba. It’s certainly true that you don’t have to be a violent psychotic to be a Cuban expatriate screaming about “freedom”.
But it sure helps.
On October 6, 1976, Cuba Aviation Flight 455, a DC-8 passenger jet from Barbados to Jamaica was bombed in-flight. In what was then the deadliest terrorist attack in the western hemisphere, 78 passengers and crew were killed including the 1975 Cuban national fencing team.
The justice for this terrorist attack? None. The anti-Castro perpetrators — Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles — were sheltered in Miami for decades.
Yelling the loudest today about Guillen’s Castro comments we find the Miami “advocacy group” Vigilia Mambisa, a collection of anti-Castro extremists drawn from the group who did most of the sheltering of Bosch and Carriles.
Bosch died peacefully in Miami of old age last year. Carriles remains alive while the US’s wider “War On Terror” has somehow failed to send a drone attack aircraft to his home.
Perhaps Carriles will appear with Vigilia Mambisa on the anti-Ozzie picket line in front of Marlins stadium. Maybe he will hold a placard and yell for Ozzie’s ouster, happily using the free speech protection he would deny others — basking in the fresh air and sunshine he denied forever to 78 innocent civilians in 1976. If not him, then surely his friends will.
If we can endure that kind of disgusting hypocrisy, surely we can endure Ozzie Guillen.
I haven’t been this stuck for a rooting interest since Shae Hillenbrand vs. Jay Gibbons.
Great post, Rob, but I’d like to try and stick a point here. Ozzie hasn’t seen any legal repercussions, and doesn’t figure to. The Marlins are a private enterprise, and can suspend their manager for any reason without violating his first amendment rights. In this case, that reason happens to be a bunch of local nuts who are arguably jumping on an available soapbox. The involvement of the Mayor is admittedly a little close to the line, but he’s just (predictably) making sure that his base knows where he stands on this, because it’s getting ink. If the city suddenly stopped picking up the garbage at Ozzie’s house, that would be different.
It’s worth noting that the anti-Castro crowd are using the exact same methodology that has caused suspensions of medium-profile baseball officials before over racist, sexist or homophobic comments (Roger McDowell comes to mind). McDowell and his ilk have the same right to say stupid shit as Ozzie, and I rather like the fact that it’s the public outrage that causes the offender to offer a mia culpa and take his medicine, as opposed to the law of the land.
What are you, some kind of faggot?
WWTF: I hear you – I’d be shocked to find out the Marlins do not have every right to sanction Ozzie per the employment contract.
And you’re totally correct in pointing out that social pressure mounted to effect change is a right that nobody should be shy to exercise, even bloodthirsty, extremist jingoes. All the better that they expose themselves so we can see and hear them for who they are instead of being taken by surprise.
That’s exactly the problem in this case. The thing of it is that ESPN et. al. will, as mainstream, lowest-common denominator media outlets, be certain to run video of any pickets and equally certain to present such picketers as indicative of a general anti-Castro sentiment.
In other words, the message that these people harbored (to say nothing of whose government, ahem, trained) straight-up terrorists is overwhelmingly likely to be overlooked. This is very unfair to us and incidentally to Ozzie, because the loudest among these people are mouthing something in no way supportable by most people who, even so, would agree that Castro is a dick.
It’s news to most people that any of these protesters harbored plane bombers who got off scot-free. It’s just not news that’s I think is going to be reported.
Thankfully, there are reporters like you and outlets like CSTB where the story can gain some much needed context.
I FUCKING LOVE FREEDOM!
USA! USA!
Meanwhile, here’s a shot of Commissioner Bud “Guillen’s comments have no place in our game” Selig somehow finding time to enjoy our game with a certain bearded revolutionary. And Adam Jones’s decidedly non-revolutionary boss.
http://tinyurl.com/73t3xqm
Fuck you.
Happy to have touched a nerve. Had I not, we might never have been treated to your brilliant argument.
Great post Rob, more people should learn about the despicable Orlando Bosch through this. Pardoned by Bush Sr, I believe? I agree with WWTF though about the rooting interest; never would I dream I’d be in a position to stick up for the likes of Ozzie!
I found this Max Rivlin-Nadler piece in The Classical to be somewhat illuminating, insomuch as most Latin baseball players’ politics are overlooked/ignored (save for appearances at Tea Party rallies, natch).
I’m not saying a private organization doesn’t have the right to discipline its employees, and sure, I’d concede that if Ozzie was out there yelling I LOVE HITLER, I’d find it a little more than tacky. But here’s the thing: CASTRO IS NOT HITLER, and the rich-ass Cuban-Americans who had to flee to Miami aren’t in the same class of Hitler’s victims, by many orders of magnitude.
Besides: This is 2012. A bunch of sandal wearing Egyptians just overthrew a government that was the second largest recipient of American military aid. You are telling me that a well-heeled community of middle-class preppies can’t foment a revolution against an isolated regime?
One wonders if the real dictatorship isn’t actually in Miami, since, you know, Democratic Cuba = huge loss of political power and economic clout for wealthy Cuban-Americans. (poor Cuban Americans would still be fucked, as are poor people of any immigrant group, natch)
The status quo ante bellum would actually be worse for the capitalists in Miami, yet these same folks are willing to screech and clutch the strings of their fainting bonnets over any perceived pro regime sentiment.
Interesting insight. I am thinking we would all be well served if the media didn’t take Ozzie too,seriously once he departs the dugout.
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